TJ Falls to 14th in the Nation Per US News

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't read through this entire thread and I am an immigrant. I have a simple question: Should I strive for my child to get into TJ? I have heard very conflicting narratives.

All jokes and trolling aside, it depends.

Pro:
Your kid will be in a school where everyone is bright and there will be a lot of like minded students there.
They will have a high level of rigor that will prepare them for college level courses. It is not unusual for students to feel like TJ is tougher than their college.
There are a lot of built-in opportunities that would require more effort to access at neighborhood schools.
If your kid is into academic competitions like math and science competitions, there is a pretty strong community of academic competitors.

Cons:
If your kid is merely bright but not particularly smart, they will struggle and might feel overwhelmed by the peer group and the high academic rigor.
Unless your kid is taking pre-calc in 8th grade they will not run out of math at their neighborhood high school.
Almost everything Tj has to offer can be accessed at your neighborhood school with a bit more effort.
You are likely to get a better GPA at your neighborhood school which can mean a better chance at the more competitive state schools like UVA and W&.

If your kid is in elementary school, I wouldn't think about TJ at all. Around the end of 7th grade I would ask myself if they have anything to gain by going to TJ. Most students do not. It is hard to make an honest assessment but you have to try and be really honest with yourself. You don't want your kid to get in and be at the bottom of the class. It's bad for their academics and bad for their confidence.

If after that assessment, I thought they would be better off at TJ than at their base school, then I would make sure they spend at least some time developing writing skills. Writing skills are important in life regardless of whether they get into TJ or not. Just being able to express themselves clearly in writing is an important life skill. If they get in, great. If they don't, no big deal because every FCPS high school has a core honors type program where great students can flourish.

Thank you for your reply! We cannot save for college (supporting family overseas) so I want to try and improve chances of merit scholarship. I don't think TJ is the best way to get that.

DP. There is really only one good way to know if TJ is the right place for a bright kid who likes school and wants to be an environment with other kids who like it as well.

And that's to apply, be selected, and give it a shot.

It is always an option to return to one's base school from TJ if it's not the right fit. But it is much, MUCH harder to get into TJ after the freshmen round if it turns out the base school isn't the right fit.

It's also worth remembering that there are a lot of folks on this forum who, now that they've decisively lost the battle over the admissions process, have turned to discouraging people from applying at all in hopes of improving their child's chances.

Tread carefully and keep your child's options open.

What about a bright kid who doesn't necessarily like school and finds it boring?

I posted earlier about having one kid thriving there and another that I don’t think would. I don’t think a kid who dislikes school overall would be a good fit. Re: bored - most kids say they are bored. Good TJ fit kids feel like their teacher spends eons repeating the same thing in math class in my view.

I meant a kid who is indeed very bored in math class and in general, due to repetition and lack of any challenge in elementary school. But to me the decision seems tricky: Would my kid who doesn't really like school mainly because of the above, end up enjoying or thriving at TJ since he can now pick up lots of things and doesn't have to be bored? Or would he actually dislike it more because although there is little repetition, it's now an environment with waaay more work to get done? As an example, my kid prefers video games to school because, well... he claims video games are more challenging. On the other hand, playing "a lot" of video games would not be a good idea or lead to a great outcome at TJ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't read through this entire thread and I am an immigrant. I have a simple question: Should I strive for my child to get into TJ? I have heard very conflicting narratives.

All jokes and trolling aside, it depends.

Pro:
Your kid will be in a school where everyone is bright and there will be a lot of like minded students there.
They will have a high level of rigor that will prepare them for college level courses. It is not unusual for students to feel like TJ is tougher than their college.
There are a lot of built-in opportunities that would require more effort to access at neighborhood schools.
If your kid is into academic competitions like math and science competitions, there is a pretty strong community of academic competitors.

Cons:
If your kid is merely bright but not particularly smart, they will struggle and might feel overwhelmed by the peer group and the high academic rigor.
Unless your kid is taking pre-calc in 8th grade they will not run out of math at their neighborhood high school.
Almost everything Tj has to offer can be accessed at your neighborhood school with a bit more effort.
You are likely to get a better GPA at your neighborhood school which can mean a better chance at the more competitive state schools like UVA and W&.

If your kid is in elementary school, I wouldn't think about TJ at all. Around the end of 7th grade I would ask myself if they have anything to gain by going to TJ. Most students do not. It is hard to make an honest assessment but you have to try and be really honest with yourself. You don't want your kid to get in and be at the bottom of the class. It's bad for their academics and bad for their confidence.

If after that assessment, I thought they would be better off at TJ than at their base school, then I would make sure they spend at least some time developing writing skills. Writing skills are important in life regardless of whether they get into TJ or not. Just being able to express themselves clearly in writing is an important life skill. If they get in, great. If they don't, no big deal because every FCPS high school has a core honors type program where great students can flourish.

Thank you for your reply! We cannot save for college (supporting family overseas) so I want to try and improve chances of merit scholarship. I don't think TJ is the best way to get that.

DP. There is really only one good way to know if TJ is the right place for a bright kid who likes school and wants to be an environment with other kids who like it as well.

And that's to apply, be selected, and give it a shot.

It is always an option to return to one's base school from TJ if it's not the right fit. But it is much, MUCH harder to get into TJ after the freshmen round if it turns out the base school isn't the right fit.

It's also worth remembering that there are a lot of folks on this forum who, now that they've decisively lost the battle over the admissions process, have turned to discouraging people from applying at all in hopes of improving their child's chances.

Tread carefully and keep your child's options open.

What about a bright kid who doesn't necessarily like school and finds it boring?

I posted earlier about having one kid thriving there and another that I don’t think would. I don’t think a kid who dislikes school overall would be a good fit. Re: bored - most kids say they are bored. Good TJ fit kids feel like their teacher spends eons repeating the same thing in math class in my view.

I meant a kid who is indeed very bored in math class and in general, due to repetition and lack of any challenge in elementary school. But to me the decision seems tricky: Would my kid who doesn't really like school mainly because of the above, end up enjoying or thriving at TJ since he can now pick up lots of things and doesn't have to be bored? Or would he actually dislike it more because although there is little repetition, it's now an environment with waaay more work to get done? As an example, my kid prefers video games to school because, well... he claims video games are more challenging. On the other hand, playing "a lot" of video games would not be a good idea or lead to a great outcome at TJ...

Does you kid have any interest in going?
If yes, then let him give it a shot. They can always go back to their base school. Almost 40 freshmen return to their base school before sophomore year begins.
If not then think long and hard about what is in his best interest. Compare his base school and the peer group there with TJ.

TJ has a efw things going for it that your base school will never have.
If your kid is very advanced in math, Tj offers more post calc options.
If your kid is wants more academically focused after school activities, there are a lot of very active afterschool activities.
How would he enjoy that sort of environment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't read through this entire thread and I am an immigrant. I have a simple question: Should I strive for my child to get into TJ? I have heard very conflicting narratives.

All jokes and trolling aside, it depends.

Pro:
Your kid will be in a school where everyone is bright and there will be a lot of like minded students there.
They will have a high level of rigor that will prepare them for college level courses. It is not unusual for students to feel like TJ is tougher than their college.
There are a lot of built-in opportunities that would require more effort to access at neighborhood schools.
If your kid is into academic competitions like math and science competitions, there is a pretty strong community of academic competitors.

Cons:
If your kid is merely bright but not particularly smart, they will struggle and might feel overwhelmed by the peer group and the high academic rigor.
Unless your kid is taking pre-calc in 8th grade they will not run out of math at their neighborhood high school.
Almost everything Tj has to offer can be accessed at your neighborhood school with a bit more effort.
You are likely to get a better GPA at your neighborhood school which can mean a better chance at the more competitive state schools like UVA and W&.

If your kid is in elementary school, I wouldn't think about TJ at all. Around the end of 7th grade I would ask myself if they have anything to gain by going to TJ. Most students do not. It is hard to make an honest assessment but you have to try and be really honest with yourself. You don't want your kid to get in and be at the bottom of the class. It's bad for their academics and bad for their confidence.

If after that assessment, I thought they would be better off at TJ than at their base school, then I would make sure they spend at least some time developing writing skills. Writing skills are important in life regardless of whether they get into TJ or not. Just being able to express themselves clearly in writing is an important life skill. If they get in, great. If they don't, no big deal because every FCPS high school has a core honors type program where great students can flourish.

Thank you for your reply! We cannot save for college (supporting family overseas) so I want to try and improve chances of merit scholarship. I don't think TJ is the best way to get that.

DP. There is really only one good way to know if TJ is the right place for a bright kid who likes school and wants to be an environment with other kids who like it as well.

And that's to apply, be selected, and give it a shot.

It is always an option to return to one's base school from TJ if it's not the right fit. But it is much, MUCH harder to get into TJ after the freshmen round if it turns out the base school isn't the right fit.

It's also worth remembering that there are a lot of folks on this forum who, now that they've decisively lost the battle over the admissions process, have turned to discouraging people from applying at all in hopes of improving their child's chances.

Tread carefully and keep your child's options open.

What about a bright kid who doesn't necessarily like school and finds it boring?

If they find it boring because the material isn't challenging, then TJ is the perfect fit. If they find it boring because they don't enjoy learning, it will be the worst possible fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't read through this entire thread and I am an immigrant. I have a simple question: Should I strive for my child to get into TJ? I have heard very conflicting narratives.

All jokes and trolling aside, it depends.

Pro:
Your kid will be in a school where everyone is bright and there will be a lot of like minded students there.
They will have a high level of rigor that will prepare them for college level courses. It is not unusual for students to feel like TJ is tougher than their college.
There are a lot of built-in opportunities that would require more effort to access at neighborhood schools.
If your kid is into academic competitions like math and science competitions, there is a pretty strong community of academic competitors.

Cons:
If your kid is merely bright but not particularly smart, they will struggle and might feel overwhelmed by the peer group and the high academic rigor.
Unless your kid is taking pre-calc in 8th grade they will not run out of math at their neighborhood high school.
Almost everything Tj has to offer can be accessed at your neighborhood school with a bit more effort.
You are likely to get a better GPA at your neighborhood school which can mean a better chance at the more competitive state schools like UVA and W&.

If your kid is in elementary school, I wouldn't think about TJ at all. Around the end of 7th grade I would ask myself if they have anything to gain by going to TJ. Most students do not. It is hard to make an honest assessment but you have to try and be really honest with yourself. You don't want your kid to get in and be at the bottom of the class. It's bad for their academics and bad for their confidence.

If after that assessment, I thought they would be better off at TJ than at their base school, then I would make sure they spend at least some time developing writing skills. Writing skills are important in life regardless of whether they get into TJ or not. Just being able to express themselves clearly in writing is an important life skill. If they get in, great. If they don't, no big deal because every FCPS high school has a core honors type program where great students can flourish.

Thank you for your reply! We cannot save for college (supporting family overseas) so I want to try and improve chances of merit scholarship. I don't think TJ is the best way to get that.

DP. There is really only one good way to know if TJ is the right place for a bright kid who likes school and wants to be an environment with other kids who like it as well.

And that's to apply, be selected, and give it a shot.

It is always an option to return to one's base school from TJ if it's not the right fit. But it is much, MUCH harder to get into TJ after the freshmen round if it turns out the base school isn't the right fit.

It's also worth remembering that there are a lot of folks on this forum who, now that they've decisively lost the battle over the admissions process, have turned to discouraging people from applying at all in hopes of improving their child's chances.

Tread carefully and keep your child's options open.

What about a bright kid who doesn't necessarily like school and finds it boring?

If they find it boring because the material isn't challenging, then TJ is the perfect fit. If they find it boring because they don't enjoy learning, it will be the worst possible fit.

+1
And the latter isn't to be snobby about it. Plenty of kids don't enjoy learning really and aren't "school kids" per se, even if they are smart.

[Anonymous]

TJ is overrated anyway. The best school around is Basis in McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ is overrated anyway. The best school around is Basis in McLean.

What makes you come to that conclusion? Do they beat TJ in all of the Math, Academic, and Science completions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ is overrated anyway. The best school around is Basis in McLean.

What makes you come to that conclusion? Do they beat TJ in all of the Math, Academic, and Science completions?

It's where his kids go.
If you want to pay $30K a year to go to a good school, then BASIS can be a good option if Potomac won't take you.

TJ will probably remain the best school in virginia even with the dilution of student talent under the new admissions process.
It wasn't close before, it is a lot closer now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ is overrated anyway. The best school around is Basis in McLean.

What makes you come to that conclusion? Do they beat TJ in all of the Math, Academic, and Science completions?

It's where his kids go.
If you want to pay $30K a year to go to a good school, then BASIS can be a good option if Potomac won't take you.

TJ will probably remain the best school in virginia even with the dilution of student talent under the new admissions process.
It wasn't close before, it is a lot closer now.

BASIS is an excellent school at the high school level - probably the closest thing to TJ in terms of course offerings. If your kid and family were dead set on going to TJ but didn't get in, and you have the resources for private school, BASIS is probably your best option.

But it doesn't hold a candle to TJ - nor does any school in this area - because of the equipment in TJ's labs... even just for regular bio, chem, and design and tech courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ is overrated anyway. The best school around is Basis in McLean.

What makes you come to that conclusion? Do they beat TJ in all of the Math, Academic, and Science completions?

It's where his kids go.
If you want to pay $30K a year to go to a good school, then BASIS can be a good option if Potomac won't take you.

TJ will probably remain the best school in virginia even with the dilution of student talent under the new admissions process.
It wasn't close before, it is a lot closer now.

BASIS is an excellent school at the high school level - probably the closest thing to TJ in terms of course offerings. If your kid and family were dead set on going to TJ but didn't get in, and you have the resources for private school, BASIS is probably your best option.

But it doesn't hold a candle to TJ - nor does any school in this area - because of the equipment in TJ's labs... even just for regular bio, chem, and design and tech courses.

Basis HS is tiny. Mostly Asian families who have students that could not get into TJ.

[Anonymous]

WSJ Article "The Roots of STEM Excellence"

It should be one of the nation’s highest educational priorities to get its most brilliant STEM students into those elite universities. Until a few years ago, the California Institute of Technology was the model.
...

The record of achievement among Caltech graduates and faculty speaks for itself—46 Nobel Laureates, 66 awarded National Medals of Science and 75 elected to the National Academy of Sciences, all generated by a school that enrolls only about 1,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students at a time.
..

"Based on the known distribution of math talent at the highest level and sex differences in occupational preferences, the students in these elite STEM departments will be more than 90% Asian or white and more than 80% male. But some things are more important than having the correct demographic mix. Finding and developing one of our rarest and most precious human resources is one of them."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ is overrated anyway. The best school around is Basis in McLean.

What makes you come to that conclusion? Do they beat TJ in all of the Math, Academic, and Science completions?

Well, no but my kids go there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WSJ Article "The Roots of STEM Excellence"

It should be one of the nation’s highest educational priorities to get its most brilliant STEM students into those elite universities. Until a few years ago, the California Institute of Technology was the model.
...

The record of achievement among Caltech graduates and faculty speaks for itself—46 Nobel Laureates, 66 awarded National Medals of Science and 75 elected to the National Academy of Sciences, all generated by a school that enrolls only about 1,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students at a time.
..

"Based on the known distribution of math talent at the highest level and sex differences in occupational preferences, the students in these elite STEM departments will be more than 90% Asian or white and more than 80% male. But some things are more important than having the correct demographic mix. Finding and developing one of our rarest and most precious human resources is one of them."

Like how TJ admissions mirror the demographics of who applies it's a function of who is interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WSJ Article "The Roots of STEM Excellence"

It should be one of the nation’s highest educational priorities to get its most brilliant STEM students into those elite universities. Until a few years ago, the California Institute of Technology was the model.
...

The record of achievement among Caltech graduates and faculty speaks for itself—46 Nobel Laureates, 66 awarded National Medals of Science and 75 elected to the National Academy of Sciences, all generated by a school that enrolls only about 1,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students at a time.
..

"Based on the known distribution of math talent at the highest level and sex differences in occupational preferences, the students in these elite STEM departments will be more than 90% Asian or white and more than 80% male. But some things are more important than having the correct demographic mix. Finding and developing one of our rarest and most precious human resources is one of them."

People don't realize how important it is to human civilization to nurture the far right tail of the IQ distribution.
Having fusion energy 10 years sooner will make concerns about global warming almost evaporate.
AI and Robotics will make a lot of dangerous jobs (and traffic accidents) a thing of the past.
We aren't going to protest our way out of the really big problems, we are going to science our way out of it. We are going to think our way out of it.

If we are concerned about the achievement gap then close the achievement gap.
We know how to do it, we've known how to do it for years but we don't do it on the left because we don't want to tell URM to work harder and the right doesn't really care enough about closing the achievement gap to dedicate the effort and resources.
Don't undermine merit and PRETEND you've closed the achievement gap that's the worst of both worlds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WSJ Article "The Roots of STEM Excellence"

It should be one of the nation’s highest educational priorities to get its most brilliant STEM students into those elite universities. Until a few years ago, the California Institute of Technology was the model.
...

The record of achievement among Caltech graduates and faculty speaks for itself—46 Nobel Laureates, 66 awarded National Medals of Science and 75 elected to the National Academy of Sciences, all generated by a school that enrolls only about 1,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students at a time.
..

"Based on the known distribution of math talent at the highest level and sex differences in occupational preferences, the students in these elite STEM departments will be more than 90% Asian or white and more than 80% male. But some things are more important than having the correct demographic mix. Finding and developing one of our rarest and most precious human resources is one of them."

People don't realize how important it is to human civilization to nurture the far right tail of the IQ distribution.
Having fusion energy 10 years sooner will make concerns about global warming almost evaporate.
AI and Robotics will make a lot of dangerous jobs (and traffic accidents) a thing of the past.
We aren't going to protest our way out of the really big problems, we are going to science our way out of it. We are going to think our way out of it.

If we are concerned about the achievement gap then close the achievement gap.
We know how to do it, we've known how to do it for years but we don't do it on the left because we don't want to tell URM to work harder and the right doesn't really care enough about closing the achievement gap to dedicate the effort and resources.
Don't undermine merit and PRETEND you've closed the achievement gap that's the worst of both worlds.

Yet many people here still think cheating is merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WSJ Article "The Roots of STEM Excellence"

It should be one of the nation’s highest educational priorities to get its most brilliant STEM students into those elite universities. Until a few years ago, the California Institute of Technology was the model.
...

The record of achievement among Caltech graduates and faculty speaks for itself—46 Nobel Laureates, 66 awarded National Medals of Science and 75 elected to the National Academy of Sciences, all generated by a school that enrolls only about 1,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students at a time.
..

"Based on the known distribution of math talent at the highest level and sex differences in occupational preferences, the students in these elite STEM departments will be more than 90% Asian or white and more than 80% male. But some things are more important than having the correct demographic mix. Finding and developing one of our rarest and most precious human resources is one of them."

People don't realize how important it is to human civilization to nurture the far right tail of the IQ distribution.
Having fusion energy 10 years sooner will make concerns about global warming almost evaporate.
AI and Robotics will make a lot of dangerous jobs (and traffic accidents) a thing of the past.
We aren't going to protest our way out of the really big problems, we are going to science our way out of it. We are going to think our way out of it.

If we are concerned about the achievement gap then close the achievement gap.
We know how to do it, we've known how to do it for years but we don't do it on the left because we don't want to tell URM to work harder and the right doesn't really care enough about closing the achievement gap to dedicate the effort and resources.
Don't undermine merit and PRETEND you've closed the achievement gap that's the worst of both worlds.

Yet many people here still think cheating is merit.

That's frequently driven by white supremacist impulses.

They have to justify why non-white people are doing better than them at something in spite of the incredibly racist society they pretend exists in america (sure there's some but not like they say).

The white supremacists on the left have always been there, but they only have permission to be racist against model minorities. That's why you see gaza protests.